How to Make a

Treasure Map

Make a treasure map for a
pirate themed party, or for a fun treasure hunt on an afternoon adventure.

You will need: a brown
paper grocery bag, permanent markers (black and red)

This treasure
map video demonstrates the instructions below, and also shows you a
"secret" that is hidden in the map that I made.

I
prepared this map for our adventure on the
"high seas" of Kentucky Lake trip that we took one summer. Our
map was a very generic map of a "secret" island where we had a hidden treasure.
The truth is that it was just any old island that we chose for our lunch
picnic, and the treasure was hidden upon our arrival when the other kids
weren't looking -- in other words -- weren't paying attention. (They
were busy throwing rocks in the water and other fun stuff). Then they "found"
the map in a bottle on the beach, and since my oldest child had hidden
the treasure, he knew how to "read" the map and lead everyone to the treasure!

Start with a paper grocery
bag. First, carefully cut open
a brown paper grocery bag along all the seams and unfold it all so that
it lies flat. Then tear around the edges until you have a nice sized area
for a map. Ours was about 2 feet by 18 inches. Tearing works better
than scissors and gives it a nice rough look. Try to use a large
section of the bag that does not have grocery store printing on either
side.

Next, draw the images
on your map.

Use a sharpie permanent marker
to draw islands, main land, a few trees, some rocks. On the ocean
parts add some curvy lines for waves, a sea dragon, birds, a porpoise,
and even a ship. Next, add a compass rose to show North, South, East
and West. Do a search for compass rose to find an example of one
you would like to draw, or use this one that I have posted here, by clicking
the image and printing it.

Somewhere on the map draw
a big fat red X to mark the spot for the treasure using a red sharpie permanent
pen. Draw a dotted line leading to the X. Make sure to write "Treasure
Map" on the map using some fancy lettering for the first letter of each
word. Use your imagination and see my example below.

Don't worry about being super
neat or making mistakes. Remember, it's a pirate map. Pirates rarely have
good handwriting.

Our map had a special secret
to it. If you folded it just right, the two islands became one island,
which made the location of our treasure even more secret!

Age
your mapNext, to make your map look
very old, crumple the whole thing up into a ball. Open it, and spread it
out, then crumble it up again. Soak it underwater for a couple of minutes,
and crumble it up again. This is why it's important to use a permanent
pen since a watercolor marker will just run. Wetting it will also soften
the thick paper and make it more pliable. Then open it up and spread
it out on the countertop to dry, or put it on a cookie sheet and pop it
in the oven on the lowest temp you can for about 15 minutes to dry.

Stage your mapFold it in half, roll it
up and put a ribbon on it to keep it rolled up. Insert it into a large
plastic bottle and put the lid on tight. Now you can take it to the
beach and have a treasure hunt. Even if it gets wet, it will still
be legible.